Nobody knows better than the Bears the impact Bourque, the only player in Hershey history to win three Calder Cups with the club, can have on the ice. The left winger was Calder Cup playoff MVP with Hershey in 2009-10 and led the AHL in scoring with Hershey last season (27-66-93).

“It's got to be a team effort and we've got to play our game,” said Bears captain Boyd Kane, Calder Cup teammates with Bourque in 2005-06 and 2009-10. “I'm sure if we play hard on him and take his time and space away, we can frustrate him.

“He's obviously a guy that's been through the playoff push and knows what it takes and he's excelled at it. It won't be easy to do, but we're going to have to shut him down as a team. I don't think one guy is going to win or lose the series either way.”

Troy Mann

Bears assistant coach Troy Mann terms Bourque the most skilled forward in the AHL, albeit one who can make high-risk decisions. A key for Mann is paying attention to Bourque when he doesn't have the puck as well as when he has it.

Mann aims to use Cameron Schilling and Brouillette as a defense tandem on Bourque and his linemates. Playing right D, Brouillette figures to have plenty of game interaction with Bourque.

“He's shifty,” Brouillette said. “You've got to make sure he's in front of you at all times. You've got to make sure you know where he is on the ice, even when he doesn't have the puck. When he doesn't have the puck, you've got to know where he is and cut his ice time as soon as possible before he gets that puck.”

Bourque and Brouillette were Hershey teammates last season, so the defenseman is familiar with the skill set he's dealing with.

“You've got to play as a unit of five,” Brouillette said. “It's not going to be a matter of one guy playing against him. It's going to be a matter of the five guys on the ice doing a good job.”

After last season, the Washington Capitals traded the rights to Bourque to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Zach Hamill. The 27-year-old signed with his hometown Bruins and, in storybook fashion, got to wear the same uniform his Hockey Hall of Fame father, Ray Bourque, once did.

Bourque has played 18 games for Boston this season (1-3-4). He has averaged nearly a point a game in 39 games with the P-Bruins (10-28-38).

“I think it's one of those things that you're not going to shut him down,” Bears head coach Mark French said, “but you try to minimize the damage he does.”